Device for measuring the length of fibers



June 14,1938. J. I. HARDY 2,120,358

DEVICEIFORJMEASURING THE LENGTH OF FIBERS Filed May 15, 1936 34 .3 a. a a 5;; I0 as! 3 i/ J, 2- umllu 4 40'? I w minim 4. 0

will!!! llllllll Patented June 14, 1938 i i I 4 1 UNITED STATES. PATENT OFFICE John I. Hardy, Washington, D. 0. Application May 15, 1936, Serial No. 79,942

' 3 Claims. (01. 33-125) (Granted under the m or March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) This application is made under the act of the fiber until it'just passes over the otherend March 3, 1883, as amended by the act of April 30, of the fiber. A third fiber clamp'permits another 1928', and the invention herein described, if patprocedure of measuring the fibers; this consists tented, may be manufactured and used by or for of o d a fiber tightly, app y at its 5 the Government for governmental purposes dl P n nd Sliding mps on either side of 5 without the payment to me of any royalty this clamp,which are respectively movable to the thereon. ends of the fiber, where the length of the fiber This invention relates to a device for rapidly may be read directly on a graduated Settlev 0n he measuring the length and crimp of fibers. drum p which the clamps levelve- The length of wool fibers is ordinarily meas- A measure of the crimp of a fiber is obtained. 10 ured in a horizontal position, with a common by measuring the percentage of its length that ruler or scale. One end of a fiber is brought even fi e o a sue to its with the end of a ruler and held there with a These measurements are accomplished by the finger of on ha h l th fiber is extended mechanical. device illustrated in the accompanyalong the edge of the ruler with the other hand 8 r win in wh h Fi 1 is a p plan view 15 until any crimp in the fiber is removed. This of the whole device; Fig; 2, a front elevation of may be done on the surface of a piece of velvet e whole device; a Sectional View On line or pile fabric, the roughness of'which assists in 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4,'a fragmentary top plan holding the fiber in the extended position'without w. f push and pull hook assembly; Fi a a undue stretching. fragmentary view of fiber clamp assembly; Fig. 20

Length of fibers is sometimes measured in a 6, perspe t v vi w of sp n F a aperw vertical position by supporting one end with a spectlve view of push and pull hook removed. v clamp and attaching a light-weight clamp to'the Similar numerals refer t0 simi Darts other end, which just removes the crimp of the t l ut the d fferent views. i

.25 fiber. The device is mounted on a frame consisting of Length of h rt fibers may be measured on the a base 9 with vertical parallelbrackets I and Ill. stage of a binocular microscope by pulling them A horizontal s aft s r t y mounted from under a microscope plate which is-on ac tween the said brackets in bearings l l, .l I. A curately graded cross-section paper, laid even flanged wh '5 is fixedly mounted 011 d s ft with the edge of one of the lines on the extreme l6 next to the brack t 0 and a gear whe 1-5 is 30 side of the field of vision under the binocular." fixed to said shaft l6 next tothe bracket l. Th protruding fiber are rasped at their ex- Another flanged wheel l4, similar tothe wheel treme end and pulled slowly until they spring I5, is rotatably mounted on the. shaft 16, next free from the plate, and thelr'length is measured to the said wheelv l5. v A floating gear wheel I is at the point to whichthey extend an the crossotatably moun ed, on th sh 5 w e said 35 section paper. This method has the advantage wheel I 4 and acollarthrust bearing 20, said collar of permitting close observation of a fiber under thrust bearing belng fixedto said shaft IS. A a binocular microscope while being measured, thrust spring 11. (see Figure 6) is axially mounted but has the disadvantage of not applying to fibers between the said collar 20 and the said gear wheel 40 of more than about one centimeter in length. 1 and a similar thrust spring I9 is mounted on said 40 Crimp in wool is usually measured by placing shaft Ifi between the wheel I4 and the gear' the fibers on a ruler or scale and counting the wheel 1. v number of curls or crimps per inch. A countershaft I2' is rotatably and, slidably These methods for determining length and mounted on the bracket 1 parallel to the shaft crimp of wool fibers aretoo slow and inaccurate. 18 extending to a through bearing 29 disposed 45 My device conbines .ease of operation, speed in the bracket l3, which bracket is vertically and accuracy. The device is so constructed that mounted on the base 9 between said'brackets I critical points on the fiber may be observed under and ID. A pinion 4 and a gear wheel 6, held a. microscope while being measured. The appliin spaced relation by means of a collar 20A, are

cation of this methodis not limited to wool alone, fixedly mounted'on said shaft l2 between said 50 being valuable in measuring the lengths of other. brackets l and I3 and in such a way thatwhen animal as well as vegetable and artificial fibers. said shaft 12 is axially translated toward .the

One form of the procedure for measuring bracket l3 the gear wheelG meshes with the gear length consists of holding one end of a fiber in a Wheell, while a translation in the opposite direcfiber clamp and sliding another fiber clamp over tion causes the pinion 4 to' mesh with. the gear 5 wheel 5. The shaft |2 extends outward a short distance and has fixed to its extended end a knob 2| to facilitate the rotation and translation of saidshaft.

A clamp 3a is fixedly mounted on the wheel I5 and extends over the wheel l4. Another clamp 3b, similar to the clamp 3a, is mounted on the wheel l4 and extends over the wheel |5. A third clamp 3 is slidably mounted on both of said wheels l4 and I5 and is held in position by means of a radial arm l8, which arm is fixedly secured to the gear wheel 1. A more detailed description of said clamps will be hereinafter given.

A push pull hook assembly comprises a vertical shaft 8 (Figures 3 and '7) with two horizontal ofiset bearings 22 and 22a pivotally mounted on the bracket l3 by means of a pin shaft 26 in bearings 21 and 21a of the said bracket I3. A bent lever 23 extends diagonally upward fromsaid bearing 22 up to a point approximately vertically over the shaft i6 and is then bent perpendicular to and toward the web planes of the said wheels I4 and I5 to form a notched lip 23. A short arm 24, horizontally fixed to the shaft 8 extends over to contact the through bearing 29 on the bracket B so that the notched lip 23 is pulled away from the wheel I! when the shaft I2 is translated toward the said wheel I4, and its end passes through the bearing 29. When said shaft I2 is translated in the opposite direction, a spring 25 returns the notched lip 23 to its normal position. In this position the arm 24 is against the bearing 28. The said spring 25 maybe of any convenient design. The drawing shows this spring as a spiral, tensionally mounted around the pin shaft 28 with one end extending over and attached to the bracket I3 on one side and the other end on the other side of the bracket l3 contacting the shaft 8.

Abutment shoulders 28 and 38 are secured radially to one of the webs of the wheel II with sufiicient space between the two shoulders to permit the notched lip 23 to pass between them.

Further said shoulders are so disposed axially that when the notched lip 23 is in one position, it abuts the shoulder 28 and clears 38 and when in the opposite position it abuts the shoulder 38 and clears shoulder 28. In addition to this feature, the notched lip.23 has an additional function in that when it is in the position in which .it abuts the shoulder 28, it also abutsthe side of the radial arm I. but when said notched lip is in the position in which it clears the shoulder 28, it also clears the path of the said arm l8.

Referring to Figure 5 and with more particularity to the construction of the fiber clamps 3, 3a and 3b, all of which are exactly alike, a lever 3|, preferably of a transparent material, such as glass, celluloid or any other suitable material, is pivotally mounted at 3|a on vertical brackets 3541 on a horizontal base 35. The said lever 3| comprises a jaw section on one side of the fulcrum 3 la and a handle section on the other side. Between said handle section and base 35, a spring 32 is compressibly mounted, normally retaining the jaw section in pressure contact with the.

terial which may be placed between the jaw section and the base-35 a pin, vertically fixed to the base 35 beneath the jaw of the clamp, extends upward, and is adapted to fall in registry'with a I projection 28.

recess 38 in said jaw member. At a convenient distance from this aperture 38 toward the outer end of the said jaw member another pin 31 is vertically secured through the said jaw member 34 extending downward and is adapted to fall in registry with a recess 39 in the said base 35. This last mentioned pin, however, extends only a short distance into the base 35 so that when the jaw member 34 is elevated, the pin 31 clears the base 35 suiiiciently to permit the insertion of material between the jaw member 34 and the base 35 up to the pin 35.

The wheel M is graduated in any convenient scale 40 for measuring length. The inside edge of clamp 3b, the one fixed to the wheel I4, is taken as the zero point on the scale and the graduations extend from that point on. the periphery of the wheel 4 away from the said clamps, substantially as-shown.

The operation of this device is as follows: The three fiber clamps 3, 3a and 3b are brought together in their initial position as shown in Figure 1 either manually or by engaging the gear 6 with the gear 1 (this engagement is accomplished by translating the shaft 12 toward the wheel I4) and rotating knob 2| in a counter-clockwise direction. The position of the notched lip 23 should be between the shoulders 28 and 38. This is made possible because when shaft I2 is pushed in it engages on 24 and swings lip 23 out to clear The knob 2| is then translated so the pinion 4 meshes with the gear 5. The device is now ready for operation. To measure the length of a fiber, such as wool, hair, cotton, silk, 7

or other fibers, the jaws of the clamps 3, 3a

'members ,of the clamps and their respective bases ina position between the pins 35 and 31 of each clamp. The handle sections of the jaws are then released and by means of the set screws 33 provided in each of thesaid clamps, the clamp 3a is adjusted so that it firmly holds the fiber sufiicient to insure against any slippage, while the other two clamps are adjusted so that the fibers can just be drawn through them without danger of elongation or rupture. The fibers are now ready to be measured. With the pinion 4 meshing with the gear 5 the knob 2| is rotated clockwise. This rotation has the eii'ect of rotat- I 3a is fixed to the wheel II, it also is rotated counter-clockwise and carries with it by contact the fiber clamp 3. The fiber clamp 3b, however, remains stationary because it is fixed to the wheel l4 and said wheel 14 is prevented from rotating because the shoulder 28 abuts the notched lip 23 when the shaft I2 is in this position. The clockwise rotation ofknob 2| is continued until one end of the fiber just slips through the clamp 3b. This ismade possible in view of the fact that the clamp 3a holds the fiber from slippingbecause of the adjustment made with the set, screw as above described and the fiber clamp 31) is adjusted so that the fiber can slip through the jaws thereof. The knob 2| is then rotated in a counter-clockwise direction. By this rotation the shaft I! together with all parts mounted thereon whether fixed to the shaft or rotatably mounted thereon are rotated clockwise until the radial arm l8 abuts the notched lip 23. The reason all of the parts not fixed to the shaft rotate with the parts that are fixed to the shaft is because of frictional engagement. That is to say, the

gear I and the wheel It being rotatably mounted on theshaft are held in frictional contact to the collar 20 and the wheel l5, respectively, by means of the springs l1 and I9, respectively. However, when the radial arm l8 abuts the notched lip 23, the friction between the gear land the'collar 20, to which gear the radial arm I! is attached, is overcome and accordingly said gear 'I with its radial arm and the clamp I attached theretoremain stationary while the wheel I! continues to rotate in a clockwise direction carrying with it the wheel ll frictionally engaged with it. This rotation is continued until the other end of the fiber just slips through said clamp I. The total angular rotation in both directions was just sufflcient to describe an arc equal to the length of the fiber on the circumference of the wheel I I. The scale being graduated from the clamp 3b fixed to the wheel II the position of the clamp 3 on the wheel it gives the true length of the fiber.

This device may also be used to measure crimp in several ways, the simplest of which is as follows:

' which comprises a base, uprights extending from g The three clamps are brought to the initial position and the device'set as described above in connection with the measurement of length of fibers, and the fiber to be tested is placed in the jaws as above described. The knob II is then turned clockwise for a given displacement of the fiber clamp 3a from the fiber clamp 8b, say, ten centimeters. This displacement should be sumcient to takeout all of the crimp of the fiber. The said clamp is is then manually brought back toward the fiber clamp lb until all tension on the fiber is removed, thus leaving it in this naturalcrimped condition. The distance traversed by the clamp is in returning the fiber to its original crimped condition is a measure of the crimp for the initial length of stretched fiber used in the Having fully disclosed my discovery, 1 claim: 1. A device for measuring the length of fibers said base, twin wheels having cylindrical outer surfaces mounted to revolve ona common axis andadiacent each other, on said. Wri hts, one

ofssid wheelebeinganoute'rwheehtheother an inner wheel having a graduated scale on its circumference surface, shaft and gear means to revolve the twin wheels in unison clockwise and counter-clockwise and the outer wheel independently of the inner wheel clockwise and counter clockwise, three fiber clamps having upper transparent jaws, mounted closely adjacent the outer circumference surfaces of the twin-wheels, one of which clamps is rigidly attached to the outer wheel, and one of which clamps is rigidly attached to the inner wheel at the zero point on the graduated scale, the remaining clamp being independently mounted to rotate relatively to both clamps clockwise and counter-clockwise on the .outer circumference surfaces of the twin wheels .to which they are not rigidly attached and a single control member to actuate all said shafts, gears, stops, wheels and clamps. v

2. A device for measuring the length of fibers which comprises twin wheels having cylindrical outer surface and, mounted to revolve on a common axis and the rims of which are slidably adgjacent each other, one of said wheels being an outer wheel, the other an inner wheel having a graduated scale on its circumference surface, means to revolve the twin wheels in unison clockindependently of the inner wheel clockwise and counter-clockwise. three fiber clamps mounted over' the rims of the wheels, one of which clamps wise and counter-clockwise and the outer wheel is rigidly attached to the outer wheel, one of which is rigidly attached to the inner wheel at the zero point on the graduated scale and the remaining clamp being inde mounted to move about both wheels, and coordinating means controllably to move each-clamp and its wheel.

3. In adeviceiormeamrlngthelengthoffibers, twin wheels having cylindrical outer surfaces, one or said surfaces having a graduated wheel independently of the other clamp and scale, said wheels being mounted tor-evolve on a common axis. the rims of which wheels-are slid-. ably" adjacent each other the sides thereof, a

fiber clamp mounted on the of each respective wheel, and meanstorotate each wheel andsssociatedciampofthe, other wheel and clamp.

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